March 30, 2005
An Open Letter to Conservatives
by Morton C. Blackwell
Fellow Conservatives,
I’m writing to ask you to join me in doing something effective against the leftist organizations and liberal media who have launched truly vicious attacks on U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
They attack Tom DeLay for just one reason: Congressman DeLay is one of the most effective fighters for conservative principles.
Time and again, Majority Leader Tom DeLay manages the strategy which wins for conservatives in the narrowly divided House of Representatives.
I know personally that Tom Delay is almost obsessively careful to get good legal advice before he takes any step which might conceivably be questioned under the law or suspected as an infraction of House rules. None of the leftist uproar has contains any evidence he has done anything illegal or violated the House rules.
The only fire under all that smoke generated by the leftist attacks is their burning hatred of a good man.
Conservatives must respond with a richly deserved attack on leftist groups and liberal media trying to lynch Tom DeLay. That’s why I’m writing to you.
And you and I must do all we can to make sure any politician who hopes to have conservative support in the future had better be in the forefront as we attack those who attack Tom DeLay.
Media and organizations who would let left wingers get away with almost anything are trying to generate a feeding frenzy against DeLay. No matter what he does, they attack him. Not content to make mountains out of mole hills, they invent mole hills to make mountains.
If Tom DeLay preferred Fords to Chevrolets or Chevrolets to Fords, the leftists would gin up reasons to attack his preference either way.
Unscrupulous leftist media will huff and puff to breath life into any trivial or phony leftist complaint against any act of any powerful conservative, no matter how upright and innocent. And they’ll keep doing this until a public reaction begins to embarrass and damage those spreading the propaganda.
You’ve seen this all your life.
They tried without success to generate a feeding frenzy against Ronald Reagan for many years. They tried it without success against George W. Bush’s reelection. Now they’re trying it against Tom DeLay.
Prominent newspapers have run a dozen almost identical stories, re-hashing the same foggy complaints, each with a different headline. After all those outrageous, repetitious attacks, the liberal news media have the gall to say that he has become controversial.
It’s clear that major liberal print and broadcast media have assigned full-time reporters in this concerted effort to “get” Tom DeLay.
The “non-partisan” leftist groups that attacked President Bush all last year and those groups’ big donors are now pouring resources into the current anti-DeLay effort.
Make no mistake about it, their purpose is to damage or destroy any effective conservative. If the attacks succeed, the left eliminates an enemy and tends to discourage any other conservative who is effective.
You and I must not let the left get away with this.
That’s why I’m writing to you — to ask that you make an immediate and sustained effort to stop the left from destroying this outstanding, successful, honorable conservative leader.
Earlier this month, at my personal expense, I had printed up some hundreds of lapel stickers which read, “Hooray for DeLay.” I distributed them to eager conservatives at political meetings. But much more can and ought to be done.
Here are three important things you can do:
First, vigorously respond to the onslaught by leftist groups and the liberal media. Attack the attackers for their outrageous bias and point out the real reason they are attacking Tom DeLay: He is one of our most effective conservative leaders.
Second, ask the leaders of any conservative organization you know what they are doing to uphold Tom DeLay against the vicious attacks against him. They should activate their members, readers, donors, viewers, and listeners.
Even non-profit groups can do many things helpful to Tom DeLay without endangering their tax status.
Virtually every conservative cause has benefited greatly from the devotion and skill of Tom DeLay. He fights our battles beside us. We owe him our strongest support now.
Third, and perhaps most powerful, by letter, phone call, email, or personal visit, ask the Republican Members of Congress from your state and others Members you know what they are doing to attack those who are mounting the biased, unfair attacks on Tom DeLay. They will listen to you.
Ultimately, the purpose of all the left’s attacks is to remove Tom from his position of leadership. That’s why they are doing this. They must not succeed.
Please don’t get bogged down answering all the absurd, groundless attacks. The left can and will raise phony new issues faster than you can respond to the old ones. Congressman DeLay has fully and publicly dealt with these false or nit-picky issues.
Focus your attention on attacking his ill-motivated attackers — and encourage others to do what is right and stand beside Tom DeLay.
Morton C. Blackwell
